How to Live Beyond Death
Or, Why We Can Only be Judged on Our Body of Work
Will anyone be able to gaze upon your literary corpse after you die?
When I was still new at spoken word, a fellow artist told me something that has stuck in my mind ever since: Writers must produce work that lives on as audio, video, print, or digital content or else it will pass away when they do. In other words, creating a body of work that’s meant to last is the primary, the best, and the sole way for an artist to be truly measured and judged by history.
I don’t plan on going out without leaving a rich and multifaceted legacy of words.
I didn’t fully understand that idea until many years later. You can share work at an open mic or a literary showcase, post beautiful poems on blogs that eventually get closed down or destroyed when the website goes out of business, or scribble onto sheets of paper that get lost or forgotten. Or you can publish your work in places and ways far more likely to stand the test of time.
Think about the many ways that you’ve contemplated how to create and/or share your thoughts, ideas, emotions, and opinions. Perhaps you’re a poet or commentator like I am. Maybe you’ve got a fascinating family history that you’ve always thought about…
